American ag
I Continued from Page 1|
™t’s consider what has happened to
agricultural exports.
During the past five years, agricultural
exports have almost tripled in value,
passing the $22 billion mark in fiscal 1976. In
the same time period, U.S. grain producers
have provided more than 90 per cent of the
increase in the world grain trade.
This year, one half of the grain crossing
international boundaries wiU come from
U.S. farms.
Five nations are now more than billion
dollar agricultural customers - Japan, the
Soviet Union, the Netherlands, Germany
and Canada. A half-dozen more are well
past the half-billion-dollar level.
Thriving agricultural exports have had a
strong impact oh farm incomes in this
decade. In the past five years, net farm
income has averaged $26 billion - more than
double the level of the 1960’5. That’s when
farmers produced a great deal of grain for
the Commodity Credit Corporation instead
the marketplace.
w The change has brought new life to the
balance sheet of agriculture. By the end of
this year, the value of farm assets should
pass $636 billion. That is a gain of $49 billion
this year, following a $65 billion increase
last year.
Of course, a $3,925 an acre price tag for
land, and hundreds of transactions in the
$2,000 an acre range have had an impact on
the other side of the ledger, too.
At the end of the year, total farm debt will
have passed $lO2 billion - that’s an increase
of 12 per cent for the year.
Real estate and nonreal estate loans rose
more rapidly this year than in 1975. Life
insurance companies made a sharp ex
pansion in their real estate loans. Interest
rates eased a bit, but the record 8 to 10 per
cent levels are expected to continue into
1977. Our USDA projections _ show that
lending will rise further in 1977 because of
strong demand and ample supply of credit.
This means financial savvy will continue
to be a crucial skill for fanners and mem
bers of your profession. It’s going to take
more and more of your time.
UNITE FOR AGRICULTURE’S FUTURE
him von comm farmers association today
Lancaster County Farmers Association plans their membership drive the week of December 13 thru 18. We need you for a member
to help keep our association strong & effective. If you are not a member & wish to become a part of this growing organization,
contact or send your *3O membership dues to the membership chairman:
The bottom line is clear, however.
American agriculture is moving ahead
today. It has the potential for even greater
opportunity tomorrow.
I am confident when the economic history
of this decade is written, American farmers
and those who support him with goods,
services and capital, will be recorded as
economic super stars.
You can find vivid evidence of this if you
travel from here down the Mississippi River
to the Port of New Orleans. At the docks, you
can see hundreds of Toyotas and Datsuns
being unloaded from ships. As soon as the
cars are removed, the same ships are
loaded with thousands of tons of soybeans
and other crops grown in Illinois, lowa,
Missouri and elsewhere.
This same scene is repeated at a score of
other ports each day. The result, or bottom
line is that agriculture makes a hefty con
tribution to our balance of payments.
This strengthens the dollar; generates
jobs and helps pay for imported oil and other
items. It benefits all Americans. There’s a
vital message here. One that affects the
American Society of Farm Managers and
Rural Appraisers, as you focus on the years
ahead.
The demand for management and
’ marketing know-how will continue to grow -
at an accelerating pace. The premium will
increase for those who can make more ef
fective use of resources. It means you’ll
need to shift into high gear - and stay there.
That’s not enough, however.
Value of farm assets for
1976 is *636 bilUon; total
farm debt for the year
stands at *lO2 billion.
We must face other new realities, based
on the fact that we are no longer a nation of
farmers. In the national policy arena, the
once powerful farm bloc no longer has the
automatic attention of those who make our
laws and chart our policy course.
Consumers, labor, and a number of other
Policy Development, Legislation, Marketing,
Insurance, Farm Management & Education
Charles & Esther Lefever
1097 SNAPPER DAM ROAD
LANDISVILLE, PA 17538
PH: 717-898-2059
groups have more clout than agriculture.
The number of farmers continues to decline.
That migration reached a peak during the
1950’s and 1960’s when' we lost 100,000 to
more than 200,000 farms a year. This decade
that loss has declined to about 28,000 farms
per year. Today, there are fewer than 2.8
million farms, and fewer than five per cent
of the population today lives and works on
our farms, compared with about 25 per cent
40 years ago.
“/ believe the number one item on
the agenda is to help create better
understanding of agriculture
“ The curtain is going down on
the traditional separation of farm
policy and food policy
Today, senators and congressmen
represent many more city folks than far
mers. Fifty years ago, there were 251
congressional districts in which the farm
population constituted 20 per cent or more
the total. Now, there are only 49
congressional districts with 20 per cent or
more farm population.
This has profound implications for all of
us.
Professionals such as farm managers and
rural appraisers have a unique challenge.
Let’s put it in focus.
As we look ahead at new farm legislation
in 1977, we can expect a clamor of voices
calling for a cheap food policy. Low food
prices have great seductive effect in
Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Chicago and in
hundreds of other cities and suburbs. On the
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Dec. 11,1976
face of it, this has more appeal than concern
for the prosperity of American Agriculture.
The basic truth is clear. Consumers want
low food prices. Farmers know that farm
prices must be strong enough to pay the
expense, and compensate for making new
investments in agricultural efficiency. Both
can best be served by the marketplace, not
government meddling.
When it comes to farm policy, if you build
high floors under farm prices, you also
impgse ceilings on farm prices at the
same time. It’s inevitable. Over the long
pull, there cannot be adequate supplies of
food produced in any country which has a
cheap food policy. Farmers have to use
technology and capital to even make a dent
in the world food needs ahead. To do so,
requires that farmers produce for the
marketplace, not the government. Whether
we like it or not, the curtain is going down on
the traditional separation of farm policy and
food policy. This requires us to do a better
job than ever of explaining the agricultural
facts of life to the public. It is no longer good
enough that only farmers understand the
economics of food production.
As we face new legislation next year,
there’s a fork in the road: Either we can
Richard Feltner
[Continued on Page 18]
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